Ironing board



y 1930- I J. G. HAUGH 1,760,552

IRONING BOARD Filed 00 23, 1928' can wash

Patented a an i James G. anan, or BASCOM, onIo inonrnc BOARD Application filed cameras, 1928. Serial No. 314,499.

" i be compactly folded so that the legs will not only. lie close against the board, but will not project laterally thereof, and hence, the whole structure when folded will be Within the area of the board itself. This is desirable ltlfor a number ofreasonsl A; very important reason is concerned withshipping and bandling the boards in transit. Compactness saves shipping space. 1 To have thexfolde-d structure 110 wider .than the board enables the same to be Wrapped or enclosed inpaper sacks or cartons of smallersize than is the case when the collapsed structure is wider and this means less cost ofsacks or cartons. Sacksor cartons are used for the protection offlthe boards fronrsoiling in'handling, so "as to assure their delivery to the customer in a perfectly. clean state. Other objects are to provide a simple and strong structureand one which when'opened out" and in use. will not be indanger of accidental collap'sef from knocks orblows or thrusts against thelegs.

Theinvention consists in whatever is described by or is included within scope of the appende'dclailns. .In thedrawings t e t r r board embodying ranged for use;

Fig. 2 1s EtbOttOHl my invention, shown an shown in dotted lines through the leg locking means showing the partswhenthe legs are open for use. p

Describingin detail what'is shown in the drawings, the ironing board; 10.3lS of the usualor conventional form. On the under sidenear the wide end is rigi'dlysecured a ,iaset of the iess of ingnear each end a down-turned. end a distance within the adjacent edg boa-rd slightly greaterthan the thic 7 legs are opened froina position flat plan view withthellegs {folded against the under sidelof the board. position of the legs being ftransversely extendingrnetal strappll, hav

i he the leg, iagwhich is pivoted thereto by a, horizontal headed bolt "orscrew, 14,: and nut,

15; The pair of legs, 13, constitute the supports for the board at the Wideend when said against the under side of the board to a vertical position and when they are ina vertical position they diverge at a substantial angle so that their ends in contact with the floor are much farther apart than the width of the ironing board. Besides their up and down swinging movement on the pivot bolts or screws, they are sufliciently loose upon such bolts or screws to allowside-wise or lateral play which permits them to be moved towards and from one another so thatwhen they are in the opened-out position they maybe spread V apart as shown in Fig. 1, and so that when they are intheir folded position as shown in Fig. 2 theywill lie wholly within the side edges of the board. s V

The lateral or side wisernovcinent of the legs 13, thus provided necessitates that they be braced and locked in their spread apart table supporting positions. I, therefore, e2;- tend from each leg to the other, two braces which extend obliquely or'at an angle and cross each other, each brace being pivoted at its upper end by a pivot, 16, to one leg near its upper end and at its other end by a pivot,

16, to the other legnea'rits lower end. Each V brace has betweenits ends and near its upper Fig, 1 is a perspectiveviewpf an ironing legs to be swung towards each other, but which r gidly locks to form a straightline end a rule joint 17, which opens to allow the connection from one leg to the other when the pair of legs are opened out to vertical. board supporting posltlon. By the described arrangement of the braces they are sufiicient 1y high above the floor asnot tobe in danger of being struck by the foot of a personor by ,a child crawling on the floor or playing'on the floor around the lroning board, and thus,

there is no danger of accidental closing'or collapse of the braces and of the legs braced thereby. I v p p v p Also pivoted on each otthe pivot bolts or screws, 14:, are the upper ends ot two bars, 18, which extend longitudinally of the board towards the narrow end thereof and which are brought together attheir free ends and joinedso as to make a single foot or floor engaging piece that will stand at a point midway between the sides of the board thus provi ing what in effect is a V-shaped leg whose upper spread apart ends are adapted to coni tactwith the under side of the board near the wide end when such leg is in opened out supporting position. Said leg when folded lies fiat against the under side of the board in the space betweenthe two end legs, 13.

Besides the braces which hold the legs, 13, in their spread apart vertical position, each of such legs has pivoted to it on its inner side one end of a bar, 19, which extends rearwardly from the leg and the two bars, 19, thus provided are rigidly joined at their up per ends by a sheet metal plate, 20, that is adapted to bear against the under side of the ironing table or board at substantially midlength thereof and to interlock with a thin bar, 21, secured to the under side of the table or board with a free end of which interlocks a cross bar, 22, on said plate'formed by a transverse slot therein. When thus interlocked said plate and the brace bars connected therewith are held immovable by a latch and brace bar, 23, which is pivoted at its lower end between the converging leg forming bars,

18, and when the table'is opened out extends upwardly and forwardly and byv anotch, 24, at its upper end engages said plate.

The two rearwardly extending brace bars, 23, converge as they extend rearward from the front legs so as to have them take the minimum amount of room transversely of the ironing board both when opened out for use and collapsed. These brace bars, 23, when, the legs are folded against the underside of the board lie between the end legs and the V- shaped leg and fiat against the under side of the board and they have sufiicient lateral spring or play to enable them to accommodate their positions to the positions of the end legs when spread apart as .in use or when moved towards one another to bring them within the limitsof the sides of the board. It will be seen that when opening outtlie legs, the converging brace bars, 23. moving towards the wider end of the V-shane leg and contacting with the outer sides thereof are automatically spread outwards, and. therefore, automatically force outwards or spread apart. the end legs, 13. and thus straighten out the jointed braces. This makes unnecessary any hand manipulation of those braces to straighten them out It will be observed, first, that all of the supporting members including the .brace elements are of rigid material and construction, there being no transversely flexible elements 'such as cords or chains; and, second. that all of the members which require movementto collapse them are sufficiently high above the floor that there Is no danger by striking with foot or bumping against by person to displace them, and cause the serious collapse of the ironing board.

What I claim is:

1. An ironing board having a plurality of spaced-apart floor-engaging members that include a pair of legs, means pivoting the legs to the under side thereof for movement towards and from one another between positions in which they lie lengthwise against the under side of the board, and a vertical position, and a pair of braces each extending from one leg to the opposite leg in an oblique direction, said legs at their point of pivotal connection with the board being movable to a limited extent towards and from one another, whereby when they are in an opened position they may be spread at their floorengaging ends substantially farther apart than the width of the ironing board and when in a position folded against the board lie. wholly within the wide edges of the. board.

2. An ironing board having a plurality of spaced-apart fioor engaging members that include apair of legs, means pivoting the, legs to the under side thereof for movement towards and from one another between positions in which they lie lengthwise against the underside of the board, and a vertical position, and a pair of braces each extending from one leg to the opposite leg in an oblique direction, said legs at their point of pivotal connection with the board being movable to a limited extent towardsand from one another, whereby when they are in an opened position they may be spread at their floor-engaging ends substantially farther apart than .the width of the ironing board and when in a. position folded against the board lie wholly within the wide edges of the board, and brace bars pivoted to said legs and extending therefrom longitudinally of the board and means to secure the free ends of said brace bars to the under side of the board.

3. An ironing table having a pair of legs pivoted to its under side near one end, a leg device comprising a pair of bars also pivoted at their ends at the same end and extending lengthwise of the board, a pair of converging braces extending from said legs lengthwiseof the board, a plate securing said braces at their converging ends and a. lock and brace bar pivoted at one end to said leg device and having a notch at its other end for interlocking with said plate.

4. An ironing table having a plurality of spaced-apart floor'engaging members that include a pair of legs pivoted near one end thereof, means connecting them to the table for movement towards and from one another, a leg device comprising a pair of bars also pivoted to the same part of the table and con verging towards the other end of the table and a pair of braces connected at one end with said pair of legs and straddling said leg device secured together at their other ends to the board, and adaptedby movement along the same to be spread apart and thereby to impart spreading apart movement to said pair of legs. 7

5. An ironing table having a plurality of 5 spaced-apart floor-engaging members that include a pair of legs pivoted near one end thereof, means connecting them to the table for movement towards and from one ana other, a leg device comprising a pair of bars also pivoted to the same part of the table and converging towards the other end of, the table and a pair of braces connected at one end with said pair of legs and straddling said leg device secured together at their otherends to; the board, and adapted by movement along the same to be spread apart and thereby to impart spreading apart movement to said pair oflegs, and jointed braces connecting said pair of legs.

y In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

JAMES G. HAUGI-I. 

